20.5.09

WHO WILL BE IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?

Note that the above question asks who will be in not who should be.

There is no should be when it comes to the Premier League. It’s Barry Hearn’s event and he can invite whoever he likes. He shouldn’t have to adhere to any criteria other than what is best for Matchroom.

(I point this out only because it’s amazing how many people in snooker get caught up in the phoney concept of ‘fairness.’ A governing body has to be fair; an independent promoter does not.)

We know Ronnie O’Sullivan, as defending champion, and Judd Trump, winner of the qualifying tournament, the Championship League, will be among the seven man field.

Hearn knows that having the world champion in the event will give it credibility, so John Higgins will also take part.

To facilitate TV sales to Asia, one of Ding Junhui, Marco Fu and Liang Wenbo can expect a call up.

Ding has taken part the last few years but has not too well of late and Fu is now Asia’s top ranked player, which may enhance his chances.

Fu also has an excellent record against the likes of O’Sullivan and Higgins and is a former champion.

Liang would bring his entertaining brand of snooker to the Premier League and would not struggle with the 25-second shot clock.

So that’s four spots taken care of, what of the other three?

Steve Davis has already been told he won’t be in the field for the first time since the Premier League began – as the Matchroom League – in 1987.

However, I’d expect Hearn to invite Stephen Hendry once again as his presence adds prestige to the tournament.

I expect the remaining two spots to be filled by two of the following: Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and Mark Allen.

Robertson’s great plus is that he is Australian and so may bring in extra TV revenue down under.

Selby was runner-up to O’Sullivan last season and has become one of the modern game’s most popular players.

Murphy is UK champion and was World Championship runner-up and so would bring an extra edge of credibility to the event.

Carter had an excellent year, finishing runner-up to O’Sullivan at the Crucible in 2008 and winning his first ranking title, the Welsh Open, last February.

Allen brought his bustling, exciting, pumped up form of snooker to the World Championship and reached the semi-finals.

So some excellent candidates but only seven places.

One thing the Premier League could do is have two groups of five with the top two from each going through to the semi-finals, which would actually mean one less match.

This is unlikely to happen and I understand the final seven will be announced within the next few weeks for the competition which starts in September.

But to return to the first point I made: whatever Hearn decides, nobody can complain.

84 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I'm sure he'll pick Selby after the favour he did him at Crondon Park. He'd have struggled to justify inviting the trumped up Trump if hadn't won it. Hopefully Carter will get the call up. Not sure that there is enough interest down under to invite Robertson though. My further five prediction would be:

Ding, Selby, Carter, Hendry and Higgins - but if that is the case Murphy will feel very hard done by.

Matchroom have already announced that Higgins is in.The remaining four will hopefully on merit be Hendry, Fu, Murphy and Carter.

If Hearn is looking purely for who people will pay to watch in venues then he should take Hendry and then bring back Davis along with Mark Williams. These are the names that sell out first at the crucible in recent years. I guess adding an asian player for appeal should be Fu on merit, or Wenbo for attractive play but will be Ding to keep China happy.

Robertson performed poorly last time he was in the league. On what basis is Selby considered to be one of the most popular players today? I personally enjoy the way he plays but his matches do not seem to sell out and he currently holds no significant titles.

Selby is the Jester from Leicester as Denis Taylor keeps telling us. Maybe some people see his quips during matches as nothing more than harmless banter. Others, such as Dott probably regard it as snooker's equivalent of sledging. I for one will be happy to see Selby slide down the rankings to oblivion.

before the World Championship despite being UK Champion i did not have murphy as a possible and i had RonnieTrumpHigginsHendrySelbyDingandRobertson

however i think after the world championship they cant ignore murphy and i think the decision will be between Robertson and Ding as to who gets the final place.

persanally id drop hendry but as you say dave Barry Hearn sees hendrys presance as a added factor because despite new players that are brilliant players the hottest ticket in snooker is Ronnie v Hendry still.

It's a tough choice to decide. As has been already mentioned, there are so many players that could be chosen. Here is the players I'd pick, it's anybody's guess who will be in the league as, of course, it's Barry's choice (except Ronnie as defending champ. and Higgins as World Champ. and of course Judd Trump)

I think the following players will be involved, except for the players who have secured their place:

Liang Wenbo,

Shaun Murphy,

Ali Carter,

Stephen Hendry,

I'd pick:

Ding,

Allen,

Carter,

Murphy,

I always enjoy the Premier League, it's well run, there are packed houses each week, great atmosphere, different city each week so lots of people get to watch live at the arena around the country (improves interest of the tournament), best players in the world, well brodcast on Sky Sports, interesting shot clock, runs for a good number of months etc. etc.

I enjoy all tournaments, but the shot clock and league format, in my opinion, make it more interesting.

It starts on September 3rd, but after that there will be no matches for two weeks due to the Shanghai Masters, but I'm looking forward to it. Maybe it would have been better for it to start after the Shanghai but then it is down to what can be organised.

I appreciate that this is a non-ranking event and don't disagree with the reasons given for possible contenders, but I'm surprised Maguire seems to have gone under the radar, nothwithstanding the fact that he didn't have a spectacular season this time around.

Hendry must get the nod because Hendry v O'Sullivan is still snooker's marquee match.It is snooker's greatest ever rivarly and every time you watch them play you feel you are witnessing history.Thet haven't met so much in ranking events over the last few years so it is great that we are guaranteed this one clash every year.I can't wait.

Maguire should be in. He wears his heart on his sleeve - the punters can see he cares. He has an edginess about him, almost a junior Alex Higgins waiting to unleash himself on to the world when the time is right. If Maguire turns up in some god forsaken outpost like Great Malvern you just know he'll be out on the lash after he's finished playing. No going back to the dressing room to change - just straight out for a few ales, a kebab and a hangover.

Joe Perry finished 2nd in the table last season. If that isn’t enough to get him a spot in next league, then it means Matchroom doesn’t acknowledge what players achieve in its own event, and that is something that reinforces the “Mickey Mouse” status of that tournament, at least in my eyes.

Hi wild i know we had a bit of a debate yesterday, but i hope now it's finished with. I know there are a lot of stupid comments that are appearing on Dave's blog at the momment but the one you had a go at yesterday i thought was a little uncalled for. Now if you had had a go at anons posts at 9:16pm and 9:31pm i would of been with you 100%.

regarding that comment i had a go at...it angers me when some matches bring down the sport regarding the betting fiasco...

in other sports if a match is braught in question that match is investigated for some reason in snooker if 1 match is corrupt the whole sport is tainted with the same brush....

when Robertson crawled his way back to level with murphy in the WC semi people i know was saying it was a fix because they need it for TV covarage and thoes types of comments are the result of very few players down the years that hasent got morrells but mud sticks and i snapped....sorry.

Hopefully one of the seven players will not be stricken down with Mumps and have to pull out, thus devaluing the whole qualification process as is the case in the darts equivalent.This may result in an exhibition match between Ding and local player Ray Edmonds in Grimsby.

I'm guessing you are the same person agreeing with yourself which is rather sad.

Mark Selby is one of the best thing to happen to snooker in recent times. I pity you if cannot see what he brings to the table because he's one of the best snooker players in the world and currently the only player capable of mounting a challenge to an in form O'Sullivan and Higgins.

I will continue to pay money to watch him play live and support him because his game is one of intelligence and invention on a grand scale.

As for accusations of gamesmanship, well I can only laugh. What do you think this game is all about? Potting balls? Think again. Mark Selby is very strong mentally as well as possessing a devastating game and he's going to be around for years to come so get used to seeing him in the Premier League and every other event for the next 10 to 15 years.

These people slating Selby and insinuating he is over-rated have obviously never played snooker to any degree of ability. Failing that they are blind. To me he is the second best match player in the world at the moment behind Higgins.

There is a blindingly obvious reason that Maguire isn't involved in the CL or the PL despite his world ranking, but I guess that's the 'elephant in the room'.

People prove themselves by what they win. Selby played well in possibly the two best matches of the season in the Masters and World Champs. Unfortunately for him he lost both and like Maguire currently holds no ranking or top invitational titles. Like 5.12 yesterday I enjoy the way he plays most of the time but think for this season he should not get a place on merit in the League.I would go for Hendry Murphy and Fu and whoever else Barry thinks will sell the most tickets- former multiple world champions remain ticket sellers above rising stars.

To John H. If it's on merit (winning things) then Ricky Walden would be in there and Hendry and Fu would be nowhere to be seen. Selby hasn't won anything granted but in terms of entertainment value he has to be there, like him or not, he's good for snooker. For pure entertainment and the right 'look' I'd have Ronnie, Trump, Cope, Selby, Higgins, Ding and Carter.

That's why I said for pure entertainment, of course Cope won't get an invite. Like Dave says, Barry Hearn will want a line up to maximise audiences, to do that he has to invite Ding. I'd be surprised if Fu gets an invite as he's hardly box office material whereas Ding is still worshipped in China. Hendry will obviously get in by virtue of his career record, but if it was on merit this season he wouldn't have got in. That's all I'm saying.

Fu has done better than Ding this season as a UK finalist and now top 8 player. Hendry is a 7 times world champion whose presence guarantees ticket sales. Walden is a fine player but in spite of his ranking win is still relatively unknown to the public and will remain so until he manages a good run in a bbc tournament.Some people seem to purely favour out and out potters and percieve that they alone have the 'right look' and provide entertainment. I hope these people gradually learn to appreciate the great skill involved in quality matchplay snooker.

Wouldn't agree that Carter is boring but I can't watch Fu, he's just too robotic. the point I was trying to make at 11.58 is that Walden is a ranking event winner this season, both Hendry and Fu are not.

I'm firmly in the old school anyway and I do prefer the tactical game to the potfest, but the Premier League is for potters. Personally I don't like it, much the same as my enjoyment of the recent world championships was marred by the buckets, I mean pockets.

What about Maguire he is number 2 in the World. Jimmy White still draws them in if there is no criteria why not? Also as much Hearn should pick whoever he wants we can still disagree with the selection.

I think if the Premier League was changed for the Snooker he would have to do it for the darts as well, as they run the same way, don't they. I would like to see the Snooker changed with 2 Groups, but It may not work in the Darts (or Bowls...ha)

BTW, I would like a Podcast on the future of Snooker in the media (through Radio, TV, Internet and Press) and a selection of people around the table from each. This should be the 'big' podcast of the summer me thinks. Would like to hear more from the WSA on the deal with PA.

Any substance to the rumours that Hendry, Ding and Higgins were told they were in the PL during the Championship League? Obviously with Higgins winning the WC, this gives Hearn another wildcard to go along with Selby.

wildJONESEYE isn't a troll, he's a Welsh bloke who spends his life in his bedroom chatting about snooker on internet forums. He opens himself to ridicule with his spelling mistakes but he is a genuine snooker fan and good bloke, albeit one who doesn't know when to stop posting.

The other character going by the name of "Rigsby" is known as frameandfortune. He had been banned on numerous snooker forums due to trolling with multiple user accounts and a disturbing hatred for everything O'Sullivan.

Reading up this topic there is the genuine wildJONESEYE and the frameandfortune character trying to get wildJONESEYE in trouble by impersonating him.

Guys this isn't a forum, it's a blog. Stick to the topic or don't say anything. Dave will switch off comments soon if this carries on because this sort of stuff irritates him and detracts from his blog.

it may be its not possible, or that he doesnt want to, but imo if its able to be done then that is the best course of action.

when comment moderation is on it gives the blog host more work checking every post and it also makes the comments totally fragmented as by the time your post appears there may have been another 3 in the queue and so the posts end up all mumbo jumbo.

Anon 7:03...the one who wanted Ronnie to "break his leg and not attend the Premier League", please take a spider and use it in a very creative way on your own spiteful person.A snooker spider, I wouldn't wish that harm upon any living creature.Enjoy!!! And don't forget to chalk it first.

Dave, I wish you modded comments or introduced a log-in form or something. It's very easy to be rude and out-of-line while being anonymous.

Record number of comments here but sadly that reached with the help of moronic statements like Ronnie breaking a leg. I'm suprised Dave didnt delete some of it. The level of maturity on here is at times disappointing to say the least.

I am not frameandfortune and i do not post on 606, as for the "Like I said, grow up and comment sensibly otherwise the comments will be disabled by the author"

If dave takes my comments off thats up to him but i would like to know what i have done to make him do it. Dave can put post moderation back on if he likes.

As for my name Rigsby me and wild where having a heated debate and i called him wild miss jones, nothing to do with constantly referring to O'Sullivan as Rigsby from Rising Damp. So like i said get YOU'RE FACTS RIGHT!!!!!!!